I am NOT going to apologise for gravitating towards the second paragraph on the FIRST  page of this book – There are three things to consider before we can live the life of our dreams and move forward…………

I absolutely LOVE the title of this chapter as we need to take a step back and examine our lives very now and then.

It is TOO true that Google and Siri are there in font of our noses every day when we need something to ask or rely on 24/7. It has become the worlds MOST reliable source that we need to examine ourselves fully. I love how Luisa included exercises to make you participate in a book and not just rad it from cover to back page and then forget what you read and then move on not thinking about what you read. This is the type of book where for me, I had to sit down in a quiet place away from everyone and everything o that I could fully immerse myself into and really ate my teeth into.

I love how Luisa is a “goal getter”, “dream setter” and looking to help others achieve a desire to reach a higher level by reading her/this book.

The first chapter asks 3 great questions.

1. What do you want?
2. Why do you want it?
3. What’s stopping you?

So when I asked myself what do you want? I thought about ALOOOTTTT of things here as I am a very passionate and creative minded person, my mind literally thinks a zillion and one things a day, and I think a lot of girls are like that in this world. We have to identify, as Luisa says why we want something SOOOOOO baddddd. When we start out in a business or as an entrepreneur you then have to put things into perspective as to hat Simon Sinek says (a quote in the book) “Why is all about your purpose, cause or belief. Why do you or your company exist? Why do you get out of bed in the morning? AND WHY should anyone care?

I wrote a little timetable here on the three questions asked.

What do you want?                                      Why do you want it?            Whats stopping you?

Live in London, Melbourne or New York   My top 3 favourite cities.            Money

Library Assistant job/role.     It is the qualification I am working towards (Only have two subjects to complete it)

FREEEEDOM!!!!!                So I can live where I want when I want and do what I want.    Currently having to live in Perth, Western Australia

I particularly LOVE how Luisa says your “why” s your unique and personal motivation to go on when times get tough. It is a ‘reminder’ of what is closest to your heart ❤ what commands you to RISE! Push through ANY limitation! obstacle or challenge you might face.

I love her outgoing passion on how she helped a lady get going with her dream of starting a jewellery business – when you share something with someone, she really gets excited and I LOVE that about her!

I love that she is determined to “live life on her own terms”, wants the ability to go on overseas trips with family whenever she wants! be able to buy and build properties to create a portfolio for family, living life beyond limitations that other people put on her, have the freedom and experience the freedom to do things that she LOVES!!!! Time freedom and finance are the three main things people talk about a lot in this world’s whomever your community is, find your tribe and love them hard.

Chapter Two

Who you are is more important than WHAT you do

In this section Luisa talks about seasons, my favourite season has ALWAYS been Spring! Cherry blossoms, and blueberries and all the English garden roses you can think of!

Although as Luisa says she loves summer as I moved to Western Australia in 2013 and hate it at first, but getting used to it more over time, it has GROWN on me, I thought I wasn’t a “WA” girl at first but I was born in Subiaco, and grew up in Morley from the age 3-10 and we moved about in WA as a baby I just didn’t know it! haha!

Western Australia does have some beauty! ❤

“Just like the weather, there are different seasons in life. Some re abundant in goodness, overflowing with positive results and just seem to be more fun, Others can be tough”

She is VERY right that the summer season is FUN! and full of Extroverts! too true! A lot happing & fast paced, it gets more busier during that season especially in western Australia! Autumn can be slow – and I LOVE how Luisa says this is a perfect time to correct and shape our perspective to reflect our truest hearts intention. Perspective governs all our choices and actions which derive from our convictions.

“It is necessary to be steadfast in commitment to our long term goals, rather than changing course to defeat boredom or impatience that creeps in”

I particularly LOVED the saying ‘a stormy season will pass, and the sun will come out again…..” ❤

But if the sun is shining, allow yourself to enjoy it and receive the blessings that are coming your way.

There are a few GOLDEN nuggets in this next section…..

CHARACTER, INTEGRITY & AUTHENTICITY ARE ABOUT LEADING YOURSELF FIRST

This bit here…… simply defined, our character is made up of the habits and qualities, we implement, and integrity tells us who we really are.

Our character is made up of our mental and moral qualities, unique to us and modelled through our integrity, personality, nature and actions.

None of us are perfect, and we all have areas we can develop. Our personalities are not meant to confine us, but to grow and develop. Our personalities are not meant to confine us, but to grow and develop. If we deliberately use our strengths for others benefit and grow in our limitations, we will inspire others to do the same.

“Shaping our character will take deliberate effort and action against our gaps, flaws and weaknesses, to progressively become the best and most complete version of ourselves.

C. S. Lewis – Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching…….

“PROGRESS OVER PERFECTION”

I found this absolutely beautiful.

“Where you are right now doesn’t determine your future because you are full of potential, wired for creativity, and destined for greatness. you can achieve more and ascend to greater heights all the time The journeys circumstance, positive or negative, force us to progress, unwrap gifts and talents weren’t aware of, and develop into the best version of ourselves.

I LOVED this!!!!!

“A superficial success is not the aim; rather, living a life from the inside out, full of value and building a legacy to be proud of should be and believe is our intention.”

AIM TO LIVE FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Clarity and conviction of our personal desires, belief systems and values will lead us to live our life by design, rather than by default.

I particularly love how Luisa talks about self-transendence over self-actualisation and that is about fulfilling your own potential, while self-transendence is about putting our own needs aside to serve something greater than ourselves.

Reaching your greatest potential by understanding Gods purpose for your life and helping others do the same isn’t just about living at your greatest point of development – it’s your destiny.

I LOVED this even more – Our destiny is not just about what we do, it is about who we become.

What was ABSOLUTELY brilliant was the illustration on Abraham Lincoln in referring to the topic of failure, He failed at business twice, he lost when he ran for Congress, senate and vice presidential candidate, before being elected as president. I love how Luisa states that his most VALUEABLE assets weren’t his education or advantages but his resilience and response to failure.

Failure comes before success……..

There are more quotes in the book that I absolutely love…..

Achieving true greatness is not about being better than anyone else, it is about being better than you were before, and there is no better test than the test of failure.

Each of us has our own personal WOW factor to shine on the world and serve our community with, but if those gifts are not embodied by a strength and unwavering persistence, they may go unseen.

We are on a journey of growth because the possibilities and our potential are limitless.

Who we are becoming is always more important than what we do.

But only becoming the best version of yourself will give you access to achieving the dreams and desire of your heart, and failure is a part of that journey. DON’T despise failure BUT learn how to make your failures serve your purposes. 

my FAVOURITE quote is this:

I really think a champion is defined not by their wins, but by how they can remove when they fall – Serena Williams

Chapter 3

What’s blocking your growth and how to overcome it

When you go to a job interview I always find that they constantly ask about your strengths and weaknesses, I am strong in Data/Administration work and I have seen the fruits of my labour from working full-time in Melbourne, Australia. Luisa mentions that we all have strengths and weaknesses, the action we take to develop our strengths and reduce our weaknesses will determine our outcomes and success and its soooooooo true!!!!!! She says people who deliberately PUSH the boundaries and continually reach out of their comfort zone SEE the fruits of their labour in where they go and what they achieve…..

Luisa is beautiful in saying YOU ARE AMAZING! and CAPABLE

“You are strongest when you are at your most authentic, and the best version of yourself is a true blessing.”

2. DISTRACTION

“We can take control of both forms of distraction to become more productive and life live with more peace and clarity.”

At the moment this one quote is speaking to me, because like I said I think a ZILLION things a day….

“Our brain is SO AMAZINGLY complex and SHARP that we could be thinking about one thing, doing another, saying something else entirely and still have a completely different conversation going on in our subconscious…….. but it can leave us tired, stressed and somewhat in effective.”

I love how she talks about VISION….. you have to write it down, hang it up somewhere noticeable, so you can read it and remind yourself everyday…..

I am just going to go STRAIGHT to Point 3 – Lack of planning

PLANNING is the key against distraction…..

You have to be a goal – setter in 90 day blocks, and have MONTHLY, WEEKLY and DAILY planners that work BEST….

Also,

• FOCUS

Energy FLOWS where your focus goes……

In the morning we are refreshed, full of energy and usually thats the time where you are most focused. 

• Once our mind decides something is true, its main priority is to find other evidence to back it up, even if it must delete, distort, generalise, or fabricate the information.

She talks a lot about relationships in this chapter and it is very healthy to get a fresh perspective on whats important. I love how she talks about personal growth, opportunity and freedom. Heres a few quotes I absolutely LOVE from the book!

“It’s a benefit to take time, stop and be more self-aware, to identify what we are focusing on. As we learn to address these thoughts and shape our perspective, we will experience freedom and be EMPOWERED to encounter the things we really want.

“Words become thoughts, thoughts become feelings, and feelings often lead to the actions we take. “

“Words spoken to use or that we hear in our heads create our thoughts and thoughts help to create belief systems. Thoughts also create sensations in our body. This is “cognitive fusion.”

Luisa is quite right about the mind never stopping. it is like unlimited Netflix, and podcasts running all day, every day, even while you sleep – this is sooooooo true!!!! haha! that is meeeee!!! Your mind is comparing, judging, assessing, criticising, fantasising, and systematically sorting thoughts constantly.

A study shows that that average person can have up to 60,000 thoughts per day, I thought it was 3 million haha but studies are constantly updating! 80% are negative, and 95% are the same repetitive thoughts as the day before – Quality of life rests on that of our internal and external communication.

We are what we repeatedly do – Aristotle 

Remind yourself of 3 things you do well, giving yourself that grace needed for growth. You will be surprised and see something FLOURISH!

“Life is gift to be enjoyed, not endured, unwrap it and enjoy your day!”

She reminded me of an old quote that I completely forgot about!

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”

It is nice to have the mantra I will make the world around me a better place…. this is hard for some to do but I LOVE that Luisa said Bring your warmth and joy and set it to tropical!!!!

and especially whats even more important is saying “I will use my experiences positive or negative to being HOPE!!!!!!

My actions and attitudes will reflect my deepest convictions

Emotions will not be the deciding factor in my choices

I have so much to be grateful for

I choose to move forward with STRENGTH today

I am a person of good character and integrity

I can develop any skills needed to complete my work with excellence

I will be kind to people today especially those who are unkind to me

I can overcome any challenge with confidence nd perseverance

I am becoming healthier and stronger EVERY DAY

I have complete control of my mind

I will live more openly with every encounter today

I am loved by God unconditionally just the way I am

I will aspire to live as my greatest self and measure myself with grace

I will uplift and encourage and believe in those around me

I will live my life purposely to reflect the divine in me

I will remind myself of the progress I have made

This last one really spoke to me as I felt I still haven’t progressed even after doing AMAZING things with my life the past year, like my travels throughout England/London and working in various industries in 6 different suburbs of Melbourne, Australia and then moving around Australia quite a bit!!!!!!!

We can finish it off with You are INCREDIBLE and DESTINED for greatness – Yes you!!!! Thanks Luisa!!!

Chapters 4 to 6 are my three favourite chapters as

I love action plans

the belief in Self Care

and

Create and sustain your dream life…. its all about VISION……

Just like she says When we embrace change, we enable GROWTH!!!!!!!

growth is just about ANYTHING!

from career to family to success to emotional maturity just like she says We go through sooooo may different life experiences….. becoming an agent of change for yourself and the world is what SUCCESS is!!!!!!

We need a strong mindset and conviction too!!!!!!!

She talks about 1. Fear of failure, 2. lack of trust, and how to define your future and not ANALYSE the past!

and elaborates on taking the TIME to DREAM!!!!!!!

by learning what matters to you the most and then what brings you JOY every day!!!!

My favourite one is heart is all about gaining clarity

especially when heart is all about what you love

and what you dont and what gives you joy?

and makes you most happy!!!!!!!

What makes your heart SING!!!!!!!???????

SUCCESSFUL people ALWAYS LOVE what they do

and know what they value most and its VERY true…….

Your heart also helps you recognise your talents……. and Luisa is SPOT ON!

We all have a gift from God we just need to recognise them, focus on them and then strengthen them…….

I believe if you buy this book it will help you with achieving your personal goals and also your business goals. I don’t have a business per say but starting this blog really opened up a creative outlet my mind especially when I went from Cosmpolitan city to country town, a blog ca be treated as a business as it is something you can be passionate about even if you are not earning money from it, whats education? whats money!? whats achievements? You will NEVER get it if you are not passionate about DRIVEN like someone who is like Luisa who wrote this book, and I am inspired by peope like this when I see it because it make me MORE DRIVEN myself EVERY DAY!!!!!!!

Luisa gives clarity through asking personal questions and she asks what are you passionate about? I was thinking about passion BEFORE I read that question and it is something EVERY person needs to ask themselves on this planet EVERY day…….

Your heart will reveal your purpose and I love how she talks about living the life you truly WANT to LIVE!!!!!!! hearts desires is a big one, and it was on my heart to go to England and it FINALLY happened! When you dream BIG it CAN happen, darling!!!!!!! EXCITEMENT IS PASSION

I truly love how she asks questions they just pop out oat me especially what do you spend your time thinking about that you haven’t yet pursued? At the moment it is New York!!!!!!!

The REWIRE YOUR THINKING section is BRILLIANT!!!!!!!

my favourite bit is with every experience moment to Moment, we are learning evaluating and categorizing and it is soooooo true!!!!! If you want to learn more about creating an action plan to thrive this is the chapter for you and then you can do a Character Inventory She asks 6 questions. I won’t write them all out but one example is what are your thoughts towards your physical and mental health?

Venturing out is also a great section to read, it talks about procrastinating learning and growing! Believing in yourself and potential of your life and growth. And most of all “confidence”

Confidence is a skill.……

Confidence is a skill that develops naturally over time as you practice and gain experience.

The more you develop a skill and become proficient in it aka cooking sewing craft exercise and fitness (daily skills) the less work your brain needs to do…….

A skill can become automatic & you don’t need to think about what you’re doing as when your brain strengthens over time it is really learning that skill that you previously did…. I am like this with typing as it is my absolute strength and I have done singing and piano and drama and when I go to do it again it all comes back to me even with strength training it is like “muscle memory”…….

Luisa is truly inspirational in the way that she writes…..

She knows how to teach us practical habits and especially knowing what you’re morning routine will be will set the tone for the rest of the day! And she is right it is the most valueable disciplines.

I truly felt empowered by “when you have a healthy self-confidence about what you are capable of and the power of discipline you will want to become even more disciplined.”

I also am all for exercise that is good for mental health. I was so into fitness and health in my early twenties and I was at the gym regularly doing strength training and even cardio to let go of any stress that got in the way of life. Like she says

“Exercise improves concentration and cognitive function and also relieves anxiety and depression.”

I absolutely love chapter 5 her words leap of the pages with such truth behind it.

SELF CARE

Last but not least one of my FAVOURITE topics on EARTH!

Like Luisa says “Self care is a MUST”….. to make sure we live our best life.

When it came to healthy self talk there were 7 points. It’s not just about physical and spiritual health but my two favourite points out of the seven were hobbies and personal development. For personal development there were three questions and one that stuck out for me was Are you evaluating yourself and actively seeking out new ways to grow?

What is so true is that without hobbies or interests we can become emotionally stagnant and lose our individuality. This is SO TRUE!!! And we all hold something valuable whether it’s in our hearts 💕 or something you want to give and offer to the world whether it’s a gift or talent you want to use or just a simple encouragement to get someone through their day.

The last paragraph of the book REALLY spoke to me and I wanted to HIGHLIGHT it!

I will leave you with the last paragraph of the book

She wrote:

“People ask me all the time, Luisa how do you stay so enthusiastic?”

Volunteering is one of my secrets. It’s a fact that serving others has physical and mental health benefits including gaining new skills and knows. It even boosts job and career prospects brings a sense of achievement develops personal character and increases self esteem. When you contribute where there is nothing to gain you will enjoy the benefits and the chance to connect with and better understand your community.

For me this stands out and speaks to me with absolute TRUTH as I have volunteered at two libraries in Western Australia and volunteer led at Save the Children in Scarborough- it does open job prospects when you volunteer and just gives GROWTH in so many areas. Take to heart this last paragraph as I believe it will help you and if you get the book at AMAZON on Kindle for $7.34 on http://www.amazon.com.au/SOUL-PURPOSE-Design-Confidence-Purpose-ebook

Or the paperback for $39.16 on https://www.amazon.com.au/Soul-Purpose-Design-Regain-Confidence/dp/1073627314